Safe Harbour

“Yes, it is. And you're a genius. We ordered Chinese food, and I put on my best CD, as loud as Mom would let me. And I slept with her last night, and we loved it… and today she bought us both Sesame Street slippers. She got Grover, and I got Elmo. And I really like my teachers, except for one, who's disgusting.” He could hear in her voice how much better things were than they'd been the night before, and he felt as though he'd just won a national award. She made him embarrassingly happy.

“I want to see the slippers. I'm jealous. I want some.”

“Your feet are too big, otherwise I'd ask Mom to buy some.”

“That's too bad. I always liked Elmo. And Kermit.”

“Me too. I like Elmo better.” She rattled on then about school, and her friends, and her teachers, and after a while, she told him she had to do her homework.

“You do that. Give your mom my love, I'll call you tomorrow,” he promised, feeling the way he used to when he called his children. Happy and sad, excited, and hopeful, as though there was something to live for. He had to remind himself that she wasn't his daughter. They were both smiling when they got off the phone, and Pip stuck her head in her mother's door on her way to her bedroom.

“I talked to Matt and told him about the slippers. He said to send you his love,” Pip gloated, as Ophélie smiled at her from across her bedroom.

“That's nice of him.” Ophélie didn't look excited, just happy and peaceful.

“Can I sleep with you again tonight?” Pip asked, almost shyly. She was wearing the Elmo slippers, and had taken her shoes off. And Ophélie was wearing the Grovers, as she'd promised.

“Is that Matt's idea?” she asked curiously.

“No, mine.” Pip was being honest. He hadn't made any suggestions this time. He didn't need to. He had helped them the night before, and they were doing fine now, for the moment.

“Sounds good to me,” Ophélie said, as Pip hopped and skipped to her room to do her homework.

It was another good night for both of them. Ophélie wasn't sure how long the new sleeping arrangement would go on, but they both liked it. She couldn't imagine why she hadn't thought of it before. It solved a myriad of problems and gave comfort to them both. She couldn't help thinking then of the positive changes Matt had made in their life.

13

OPHÉLIE'S APPOINTMENT AT THE WEXLER CENTER WAS at nine-fifteen. She dropped Pip off at school first, and headed for the area South of Market immediately after. She had worn an old beaten-up black leather jacket and jeans, and Pip commented on the way to school that she looked nice.

“Are you going somewhere, Mom?” she asked, in her white middy and navy blue pleated skirt, which were her school uniform. She hated wearing it, but Ophélie had always thought it solved a multitude of fashion decision problems at that hour of the morning. It made Pip look sweet and young. She wore a navy tie for important school events, and her red curls seemed like the perfect accent to it.

“Yes, I am,” Ophélie said with a quiet smile. She loved the nights they had been sharing in her bed. It dimmed the pain of the loneliness, and quelled the agony of mornings. She didn't know why she hadn't thought of it before, mostly because she didn't want to lean on Pip for comfort, but it was turning out to be a blessing for them both. And she was grateful to Matt for the suggestion. She had slept really well next to Pip for the first time in months, and waking up to Pip hugging her and looking into her eyes nose to nose was the happiest thing that had happened to her since Ted died. He hadn't been nearly as cozy and friendly in the morning, and hanging around in bed and cuddling, or telling her he loved her as he woke, had never been his thing.

She told Pip about the Wexler Center then, what they did and the fact that she hoped to volunteer.

“If they want me.” She had no idea what they would want her to do, or if she could really be useful to them. Maybe if nothing else, they would let her answer phones.

“I'll tell you all about it when I see you this afternoon,” she promised as she dropped Pip off on the corner, and watched her head into the school driveway with her friends. She was so busy talking to them, she didn't even turn to wave.

Ophélie parked in a space on Folsom Street, and walked into the alley where the Wexler Center was, and she saw a cluster of drunks, sitting against a wall as she went past. They didn't have far to go to the Center, but it seemed to be too much trouble for them even to move. She glanced at them, and they seemed not to notice her, they appeared to be lost in their own private world, which was more a private hell. Ophélie walked past them with her head down, feeling silently sorry for them.